The Wisdom of Insecurity

A Message for an Age of Anxiety

De: Alan Watts, Deepak Chopra - introduction MD

Narrado por: John Lee

An acclaimed philosopher shows us how—in an age of unprecedented anxiety—we can find fulfillment by embracing the present and living more fully in the now. He is "the perfect guide for a course correction in life" (from the Introduction by Deepak Chopra).

The brain can only assume its proper behavior when consciousness is doing what it is designed for: not writhing and whirling to get out of present experience, but being effortlessly aware of it.

Alan Watts draws on the wisdom of Eastern philosophy and religion in this timeless and classic guide to living a more fulfilling life. His central insight is more relevant now than ever: when we spend all of our time worrying about the future and lamenting the past, we are unable to enjoy the present moment—the only one we are actually able to inhabit.

Watts offers the liberating message that true certitude and security come only from understanding that impermanence and insecurity are the essence of our existence. He highlights the futility of endlessly chasing moving goalposts, whether they consist of financial success, stability, or escape from pain, and shows that it is only by acknowledging what we do not know that we can learn anything truly worth knowing.

In The Wisdom of Insecurity, Watts explains complex concepts in beautifully simple terms, making this the kind of book you can return to again and again for comfort and insight in challenging times.

“Perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West, Watts had the rare gift of ‘writing beautifully the unwritable.’” —Los Angeles Times

©2011 Alan Watts and Deepak Chopra (P)2023 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“The wisdom of insecurity is not a way of evasion, but of carrying on wherever we happen to be stationed—carrying on, however, without imagining that the burden of the world, or even of the next moment, is ours. It is a philosophy not of nihilism but of the reality of the present—always remembering that to be of the present is to be, and candidly know ourselves to be, on the crest of a breaking wave.”—Philip Wheelwright, Arts and Letters

“This book proposes a complete reversal of all ordinary thinking about the present state of man. The critical condition of the world compels us to face this problem: how is man to live in a world in which he can never be secure, deprived, as many are, of the consolations of religious belief? The author shows that this problem contains its own solution—that the highest happiness, the supreme spiritual insight and certitude are found only in our awareness that impermanence and insecurity are inescapable and inseparable from life. Written in a simple and lucid style, it is a timely message.”—Book Exchange (London)

Surrendering Control

In The Wisdom of Insecurity, Alan Watts delivers an honest confrontation with uncertainty. The book is a gentle but firm loosening of our grip on guaranteed outcomes. Watts argues that it is precisely our craving for security that generates the chronic anxiety of modern life. In trying to make life completely predictable, we can unintentionally distance ourselves from the full experience of the present.

Rather than offering comforting answers, Watts invites us into a different relationship with uncertainty, one of acceptance and even reverence. Life, he suggests, is inherently unknowable. The problem is not uncertainty itself, but our resistance to it. Our futile attempts to control only leave us more disconnected.

Watts does not advocate passive resignation but rather an active surrender: a willingness to meet each moment as it comes, without bracing against what might be next. In his view, real faith is not found in clinging to certainty, but in relaxing into the unknown with open eyes. Freedom comes when we release the need to control outcomes and allow ourselves to simply be present for what is.

The Wisdom of Insecurity won’t fix your anxiety. It acts as a mirror that gently shows why you have it. And then it quietly offers the shift that makes peace possible.

Being as a child

Having read "The Book" decades ago, I find that Watts' explanations expand my thinking. I appreciate how he does that.

It is ironic, then, that his message points to the idea that thinking gets in the way of experiencing life. And experiencing life, here and now, is what it's all about. Past and future get in the way.

The most profound insights for me are found in the last 30 minutes. But you must follow his argument laid out throughout the book to have the last 30 minutes make sense.

Experience the book.
Take what you will.
Enjoy today.

It was a great listen

I like the expansive nature of its main message. I could see AW reading it with the peaceful music in the background

A Beautiful Way of Explaining Zen and How It Applies to Modern Life…

I’ve read this book 7 times already and I’ve listened to it once … my next step is to read it while following it with the book …
Dr. Watts is just one of those rare philosophers who can explain Zen in a way that’s easy to understand but in a humorous manner! I want to add … I do not personally consider his works as “self-help” books they are ways to see life in a whole different perspective … of all the books Dr. Watts wrote this is the one I recommend you read first!!!

True wisdom of life, the way to liberation

Such a great masterpiece from Alan Watts. True wisdom and a great reminder to enjoy present moment.

I want to understand to surrender I to release into All

It is so easy and eagerly absorbed as brilliant philosophy, yet it points us toward the release into clarity that does not require this book for being.

Truth

Incredible and so clear. There is no real duality and this is the most important aspect.

Excellent content

I love the ideas Alan Watts presents here, but the narrator speaks way too fast. I had to slow the narration down to .8x

A presentation to remember.

The rhythm and voice and subject of this audiobook presentation is as food for my thoughts.

Hard to follow as others have pointed out

Watts fans have grown to love his pacing and this book’s pacing is so different in the narration that it almost feels like a book written by AI mimicking Watts.
The inflections in the narration also make parts hard to even hear while on top volume. I found myself heading to YouTube and looking up another talk by Watts.